An update!

Hello all,

I'm sorry we haven't had many posting on the blog lately but life is catching up to us. The kids have been in school for three weeks now and the homework is definately here to stay. Matthew being in grade 7 is in high school here in Bolivia and the workload reflects it. Sarah is now in grade 5 and in a class with only 11 students. They both have spanish in school 2-3 times per week and are learning new words little by little. Both Brian and I are pleased to see the progress that his English class is making. When Laurier Heights sent us here it was with the desire for us to be an extension of our STEP partnership. The great thing is that currently around half of Brian's class are teacher's from the Casa de la Amistad project that our church has partnered with. It's fun to watch grown adults laugh at us as we butcher their native language spanish and us giggle together with them as they step out into English. Most days the class goes by way to fast and there is always so much vocabulary that we both need to learn.
Matthew started at a youth group last Friday which also allowed us to go meet some other families at another Mission organization group called New Tribes Ministry. While the teens were across the street at the church we gathered at the Missions guest house and compound to play cards for 3 hours. It was a successful evening for Matthew and us as well. The church is within walking distance from our apartment which is nice as well. Sarah found some other younger siblings to play with while we played cards. Who doesn't enjoy phase 10 and popcorn. Last Saturday the kids school had their annual Beginning of school BBQ. It was again a beautiful sunny Cochabamba day and a good chance to meet some other families.
Today we experience our first public transportation strike ( Buses and trufi's) which included the school buses for the whole city. We were awoken by an early phone call at 6:30 that school was canceled due to the strike. Unlike Canada, strikes also include road blockades which we watched from our television. The school buses parked themselves sideways along major routes into down town, throughout the traffic circles and the city's most important roadways. We of course all just stayed home and caught up on housework and homework, every bodies favorites. By 12:30 it was all over and life carried on. I think the kids were hoping for a longer break from school.